Program officials said victim advocacy groups in northeast Georgia face potential future funding shortfalls if they do not receive funds from Gov. Kemp’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
One of the primary sources of federal money to fund Northeast Georgia’s victim advocacy programs for survivors of rape, domestic violence, child abuse, sex trafficking and murder, such as the Circle of Hope, Rape Response, Fight Abuse in the Home (FAITH) and the Family Resource Center is the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA).
VOCA is funded by the Crime Victims Fund, which consists of fines and penalties paid by convicted federal offenders, but that fund has dried up in recent years. According to statistics from the Circle of Hope, Georgia’s VOCA funding fell by 67 percent between 2018 and 2021 – from about $105 million to $35 million.
(Source: VOCA Grant 2022 report)
These victim advocacy groups provide support and resources to adults and children who have survived sexual assault and domestic violence, giving them safety nets to escape dangerous situations and resources to recover from the short- and long-term effects of trauma.
According to Suzanne Dow, Executive Director of Circle of Hope, these services were already in high demand across the region before the pandemic hit. Now, after the outbreak of the pandemic and the lockdown, these services are in even greater demand.
CASA relies on volunteers – seen here in training in 2021 – and limited funds to carry out its children advocacy mission. (Facebook)
The Family Resource Center has spent much of the lockdown finding creative ways to serve its victim population and, like other nonprofit advocacy groups, manages its disproportionate number of cases and the needs of survivors. The Northeast Georgia Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) program stands on the same page as their other groups as a local operation that knows what it would be like to lose that funding.
“We’re a small agency and were fortunate to get a fair bit of VOCA funding,” says Melissa Mitchell of CASA, a nonprofit organization that supports child abuse victims, who says losing that funding would take a huge toll their operations. “This is going to be big for us for sure.”
Mitchell says they can tighten their belts and hope for more funding sources because as a nonprofit, that’s often a reality. But it wouldn’t make that hit any less damaging.
“Our counseling center is busy year-round,” says Family Resource Center executive director Linda Johnson. “We provide psychiatric services to anyone who has had a negative childhood experience. Just the thought of this drastic reduction in funding for this fabulous program is devastating.”
A great loss
For Rape Response, a Gainesville-based sexual assault response and victim advocacy group, VOCA funding covers approximately 23 percent of its budget. For CASA, Circle of Hope, and the Family Resource Center, it’s even more.
The Circle of Hope is facing a 37 percent cut in its funding that would “substantially eliminate” one of the organization’s housing programs. At CASA, it’s a 36 percent cut, and at the Family Resource Center, they could face a funding loss of up to 45 percent, forcing them to drastically scale back their counseling services.
“If we’re not able to sufficiently reduce our expenses and find other revenue streams, then there’s certainly one thing we’re looking at [seeing] Reductions in our service levels,” Mitchell said. “And I don’t know what that looks like now, it’s just too hard to say.”
But the real victims of the loss of funding are not the centers, even if their loss of jobs would be devastating. The groups say the survivors are the ones hit the hardest.
“The bottom line is that the survivors, the people we work with, are the ones who get hurt the most, and that’s the hardest part for all of us,” said Jeanne Buffington, executive director of Rape Response. “It’s hard for me to even think about the impact on our agency, but the impact on our agency will impact those we serve and the depth and scope of the services we are able to offer.”
The Family Resource Center of Northeast Georgia is located at 122 Laurel Drive in Clarkesville, GA. The center offers a variety of services including parenting classes, assisted family visits, counseling and support groups. (Photo courtesy of FRC Facebook)
Asking for help
Supporters of these groups say the programs they offer desperately need VOCA funding to continue serving their communities, and they need the help of their lawmakers to ensure the funding reaches them.
“Kemp holds the keys to Georgia’s $4.8 billion American Rescue Plan State Fiscal Recovery Fund (FRF) coming to Georgia,” says the Circle of Hope. “Twenty-two states have used FRF to support human service programs, with three states having used 30 percent or more of their allocations to date for this purpose. Advocates across the state are urging Kemp to use these funds to cover an expected $11.2 million in cuts to service providers for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.”
Buffington hopes her representatives will see that investments in these victim advocacy resources do more than just serve survivors, they directly impact their communities and other taxpayers for the better.
“If we invest the dollars we get in the lives, health and well-being of survivors, it limits mental health [issues]physical health [issues], court cases, law enforcement involvement, all those things that hit our pockets as taxpayers, it cuts that off,” Buffington says. “I hope lawmakers see that, and I hope the general public can understand that.”
